Game of Thrones, Season 4, Episode 4: Oathkeeper

Across the Ocean, Daenery’s White Lady Saviour Tour

Missendei and Grey Worm are practicing Grey Worm’s… English I guess (Westerosi?) and belatedly adding some back story and character development and Grey Worms’ determination to kill the Masters. Is it coincidence that Daenerys comes in just then? And they both start guiltily?

Grey Worm leads several Unsullied into Meereen, sneaking into the slave areas where there’s a large meeting of slaves deciding whether to revolt or not. Grey Worm sings Daenerys praise and gives them a huge stash of weapons. He also has the fun line “no-one can give you freedom, you must take it.” Which would have more impact if Daenerys wasn’t cast as doing just that.

The uprising happens and the badly outnumbered masters are defeated. Daenerys enters the city to adulation and broken chains and more people calling her “Mhysa”. Step two of the conquest is to remember all the slave kids the Meereen rulers nailed to mileposts – and pick 100 masters to be treated the same way, though Ser Barriston advises against it; he advises mercy. She doesn’t take that advice.

In Kings Landing with lots of plotting (always)

Jaime continues to be schooled in the art of dirty fighting by Bronn, with Bronn’s usual irreverence. At the end of which Bronn and Jaime discuss Tyrion’s innocence and Bronn throws in a little shame at Jaime for not visiting his brother

So he does which includes much attempt to cheer Tyrion up and Tyrion outright dragging on the carpet the fact that Joffrey is Jaime’s son. Jaime can’t help Tyrion escape because treason and all that, which Tyrion makes a mockery of, even Jaime sounds disbelieving when he talks about the trial as if it’s some source of justice. Jaime raises Sansa as an alternative (adding her convenient disappearance, Cersei’s hate and bounty) but Tyrion is sure Sansa isn’t a killer… yet anyway.

Nope, Sansa’s on boat with Littlefinger, being taken to the Eyrie to marry Lysa Arren (Sansa’s aunt, Catelyn’s sister, daughter of Lord Tulley and the kingdom that has most determinedly tried to stay out of everything). Sansa asks if Littlefinger killed Joffrey he tries to dodge the question so she firmly backs it up without the question now – Littlefinger killed Joffrey, using poison in her necklace that Dontos gave to Sansa. And why since the Lannisters were good to Littlefinger? Because Littlefinger is playing politics at a level that doesn’t come close to being comprehensible to anyone (except, maybe, Varys). Joffrey was too unpredictable an ally, he likes his new friends and his new friends wanted Joffrey dead.

Fangs for the Fantasy Podcast: 2014, Episode 16

It's Monday! Time for another episode of Fangs for the Fantasy, the podcast where we examine many of the shows we've been following this week, along with our book of the week and dissect them all from a social justice lens (and comfort Renee for being deprived of her mermaids).

You can join us here and you can listen live on our youtube channel, here, or in our sidebar. All will also carry a recording after the show is finished. As ever all our previous podcasts can be found in the archive

The podcast begins at 7:00pm EST (technology willing)

21st April - 28th April: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

28th April - 5th May: Night Season by Eileen Wilks

5th May - 12th May: The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

12th May - 19th May: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

19th May - 26th May: Banishing the Dark by Jenn Bennet

26th May - 2nd June: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

2nd June - 9th June: The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

9th June - 16th June: Ocean at the End of Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The protagonist doesn’t have a name any more, she is only known as Offred. Because she belongs to Fred. She’s a Handmaid, a woman who exists only to provide a child to the Commander, the man who controls her. Once she was free, once she had a family, jobs, property, a life – but all of that is gone in Gilead – now she is nothing more than a womb facing even greater ruin if she doesn’t produce that coveted child.

In her gilded cage, the only freedom she has is the memories of what was and a desperate fantasies of hope.

The writing has an interesting style, everything (except the very end) is in the woman’s POV (her real name is never revealed though she is forced to adopt the name Offred). This can make for a very confused viewpoint – but it’s an extremely good confused viewpoint. She spends so much of her time unable to do anything, expected to stare into space. She spends a lot of her time having to be silent and accepting of anything people force on her or as a silent witness to what is happening around her. She is a prisoner with no end in sight to her sentence – and she lives very much in her own head. The pasts she imagines for people, the memories she allows herself to be lost in, the possibly fictional futures she invents for Luke or Moira or anyone else around her all combines to really underscore the desperateness of her life. She needs these fictions, these fictions are the only things that bring her anything resembling hope and she needs that hope to keep going, to keep surviving, to hope to see another future.

Does it mean the narrative isn’t always easy to follow? No, because her life is very linear, it’s a life devoid of choices. It’s only when we follow the paths of her memories and dreams that we get the confusion that is inherent with freedom – because in her head is the only place she can be free. I think it’s a very deliberate writing choice and a very powerful one. 

The pacing and introduction to the dystopia was excellently done, each part of the world being slowly revealed, wonderfully contrasting with how things were without ever having to be an info-dump. Everything is conveyed through natural thoughts from the protagonist - nothing felt contrived, nothing felt dubious, nothing felt forced. We see her helplessness not just from the rules of what she can and cannot do, but her petty little rebellions, even her dreams of rebellion - things which are so utterly minor but to her seem like such a grand transgressing. Just think obscenities of one in charge, dreaming of being able to steal a small, insignificant item just to have that power, just to be able to do something.

It’s incredible how many different issues are packed into this narrative without the narrative ever feeling either preachy or text book like or like the lessons have been pushed in. The overwhelming misogyny of the world has been displayed with all its inter-connecting intricacy. The emphasis on purity and chastity for women, reducing women to nothing but breeding stock – putting the Handmaids into gilded cages for their precious wombs – but still reviling and loathing them for having sex; needing them to have sex for that previous fertility, but still hating them for having sex all.

There’s a huge element of how the misogynist culture works because there are women willing to collude with it – whether through their own status being elevated because of it, or because they thought of themselves as the exception or even through genuine programming through “moral” values. One of the constant messages is that this “transitional” generation will be the only problem because future women will be raised knowing know difference. This power of youthful indoctrination is emphasised by things like the banning

Da Vinci's Demons, Season 2, Episode 6: Rope of the Dead

Leonardo is now at the threshold of the Vault of Heaven (which he’s seen before in his visions/dreams/hallucinations/drug trips) and Ima tells him the key to get in is to become one with her forever. To which he puts on some rapid breaks – was that a proposal? She asks if he’s already spoken for and he says no (ouch Lucrezia); I do think there are more reasons to refuse marriage with a complete stranger than “I’m already with someone else” though. Is there a particular reason why weddings are needed here?

A man storms in to have an argument with Ima in Incan and then leave – he’s apparently her dad and he’s pretty confident Leo’s going to die in the upcoming trials (trials? Hey there’s some fine print!) Apparently he gets to set lots of tests for the marriage ceremony and he wants it to be hard because he’s quite happy for the Leafy Book to stay where it is. Oh and Leo’s mother is also in the Vault, she never left. There’s a good chance, then, that it’s actually Leo’s mother’s body in said vault.

Meanwhile Zoroaster prepares to strangle Riario but Zita stops him, singing Riario’s praises and claiming Riario saved her from slavery (which is a pretty revisionist take on matters). She also thinks Leo needs Riario

Anyway, the whole wedding things is revealed to the others when they’re pulled out to another huge group meeting. Honestly, how do these Incans get anything done with these huge ritual meetings every other day? Anyway, Ima gives Leo a gold pin as a token of their sharing their lives together – he points out he doesn’t have anything in return but she points to Lucrezia’s ring. He gives it to her. Next one of Leo’s friends have to spill blood for him (whose remains a myster). Ima chooses Riario because she thinks he’s good at blood spilling. Hah, yes. Of course Zita wants to protect him and stand in his stead because Stockholm Syndrome love.

First test is for Leo to put his hand in a statue of the god Viracocha containing snakes. Ima explains the test – Riario has to go through the corn fields where he’ll be hunted by 3 predators then kill another guardian who will guard the antidote. Antidote? Why, to the snake that just bit Leo (he collapses dramatically) that’s one ornery snake. If Riario fails Leo dies and everyone else is sacrificed.

While Riario gets on with that Ima gives Leo a potion to give him visions to go with his snake venom. Oh really, Ima, this is Leo. You want him to have visions you just have to poke him a little. This way involves a drug that makes Leo woozy and them having sex. Of course it does - because Gratuitous Heterosexuality. (And of course she’s naked but he isn’t). Let the vision quest commence (the camera man now runs for his coloured filters). First vision is of Dead Guiliano who gives Leo a riddle – is there even any tension in waiting to see if Leonardo Da Vinci can answer a riddle? Leo also promises the ghost to protect Vanessa. Onwards to see The Abyssinian with the Mona Lisa which Leo will paint in the future; at this point Leo never finishes a painting she he wants to know what’s so special about this one. Oh and we get a reminder that much of his history will be repressed (like him being gay? Oh Goyer, you want us to hate you).

Book of the Week

It's another Monday which means it's time for our next podcast - episode 10 of 2014 where we will talk about all of the shows we've been following this week (or as many as we can get to), our book of the week and whether Renee manages to carve through the permafrost to her home or not - all through our social justice lens. Feel free to join us, listen, ask questions or make suggestions

Like all  the Fangs for the Fantasy podcasts (archives here) we read a book and discuss it on the show. 

To give people a chance to read along with us we include a list of our planned books of the week for the next few shows, so people can get the books, read them and join in the conversation.

21st April - 28th April: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

28th April - 5th May: Night Season by Eileen Wilks

5th May - 12th May: The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

12th May - 19th May: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

19th May - 26th May: Banishing the Dark by Jenn Bennet

26th May - 2nd June: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

2nd June - 9th June: The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

9th June - 16th June: Ocean at the End of Lane by Neil Gaiman

Orphan Black, Season 2, Episode 2: Governed by Sound Reason and True Religion

Helena, who may have been Wolverine in a previous life, wakes up (briefly) in a hospital – much to the shock of the police and medical personnel who can’t even figure out why she’s still alive.

Sarah seems to have finally filled Art in on the big cloney secrets when Felix joins them. They get a phone call from Kira on Felix’s phone – she can’t tell them anything before being cut off other than “there’s a weird man here.”

Art tracks the phone number which is listed and he and Sarah set off – pausing only a second at Felix’s insistence because he’s got a new set of Clone Phones since Sarah had to dump her old one.

Allison attends Aynsley’s funeral and is a little tense and nervous what with the whole almost-murdering-Aynsley but she does just about hold it together. In as much as Allison ever holds it together. She even adamantly refuses to have a drink even with the nasty neighbours gossiping about her (Donny even expects her to). Even her children stealing flowers and extra-huggy supportive friend don’t drive her to the bottle.

But Donny getting a text message on his phone from an unknown someone telling him to “placate her”? Revealing, perhaps, that Aynsley wasn’t her watcher and it was Donny after all? It’s BOOZE O’CLOCK! And determined fierce eyes which means Donny may have a glue gun in his future.

To a rural cattle farm where a man, Henrick in between sticking arms up cow’s backsides (I’m sure there is a farmer reason for getting this intimate with a cow. I’m equally sure I never ever ever ever need or want to know this) congratulates his fellow on keeping Helena, the sister of the mother. These must be the Proletheans – and they want Mark to get Helena out of the hospital as well.

To the Dyad institute where Leakie is unhappily questioning Cosima and Delphine about how Sarah used Cosima’s identity to “shitkick Rachel”. Delphine innocently points out that Sarah’s a con artist and had them all completely fooled, honest – afterall, she tricked Leakie didn’t she? Stealing his passcard and all? I like how Cosima doesn’t even pretend not to be amused by that. Leakie warns them that Rachel is a touchy touchy person.

Leakie takes Cosima on a brief tour of the facilities and to her new lab – while she snarks away, nicely exposing the dubious practices behind the PR. He does manage to break through with grand promises of what their lab can do – and an unlimited budget to equip her own lab.

They play in their lab, discussing the toys they will buy, with Cosima flirting and having great fun, eventually kissing until Rachel interrupts them. Cosima makes a comment about Sarah beating up Rachel, because you have to. Rachel makes a very fascinated statement about Cosima being gay which Cosima shoots down awesomely “my sexuality isn’t the most interesting thing about me.” Rachel does have instructions and limitations for Cosima though – including not letting her see all the info they have on the genome even when examining her own disease (also casually revealing how much Dyad has mined into her medical records). Her primary interest though is why Sarah is different from the other clones – particularly, why she can reproduce.

Sarah and Art arrive at the motel where Kira was being held – but they’ve left. They find a picture drawn by Kira and the clerk is clear that Mrs. S wasn’t with them. While they’re there, Daniel drops in. Rachel’s second/attackdog and Art takes great pleasure in arresting him while Daniel threatens him. Sarah, meanwhile, follows a trail of Kira’s clothes – which isn’t a trap, honest. She follows the trail to a garage where a car is running, boot open – and the “weird man” grabs Sarah and forces her into the boot with promise of seeing Kira

It’s a trap! Who would have guessed?

He takes her to a country lane, lets her out the car and promptly gets booted for it (he should have known better). Sarah is distracted from giving him a good beating when Mrs. S arrives – she apparently knows Benjamin and assures Sarah that Kira is fine. Sarah does not take this calmly, fir good reason. Nor is Sarah particularly eager to be co-operative until she’s seen Kira – though when Sarah demands to know what side Mrs. S is on she replies “yours love, it’s always been yours.” Hmmm we shall see, I have seen a whole lot of crap justified as “for your own good.”

New Releases 27th April - 3rd May

What follows is a list of books which will be released between April 27- May 03.  It can be tough  keeping up with ongoing stories and often we miss the latest new release, unless the book/series is the beneficiary of a big round of publicity . That is why we are committed to sharing with you books that are the first in their series every week.  Please check out the list and let us know what books you are interested in checking out and why.

Peacemaker by Marianne de Pierres

When an imaginary animal from her troubled teenage years reappears, Virgin takes it to mean one of two things: a breakdown (hers!) or a warning. When the dead bodies start piling up around her and Nate, she decides on the latter. Something terrible is about to happen in the park and Virgin and her new partner are standing in its path...

Virgin Jackson is the senior ranger in Birrimun Park - the world's last natural landscape, overshadowed though it is by a sprawling coastal megacity. She maintains public safety and order in the park, but her bosses have brought out a hotshot cowboy to help her catch some drug runners who are affecting tourism. She senses the company is holding something back from her, and she's not keen on working with an outsider like Nate Sixkiller.

Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike

Lisa McMann's Wake trilogy meets the blockbuster Inception in this dark page-turner from #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike.

Oracles see the future but are never supposed to interfere. Charlotte learned that the hard way. If she hadn't tried to change one of her childhood visions, her father would still be alive. Since the accident, Charlotte has suppressed her visions to avoid making the same mistake. But when she receives a premonition of a classmate's murder, she can no longer ignore her powerful gift.

Then Charlotte meets someone who not only knows her secret but who also has a way for her to stop the killer. He offers to teach her how to manipulate her visions to change the future. But doing so will put Charlotte in the path of the murderer.…

Aprilynne Pike's bestselling Wings series was called "remarkable" by Stephenie Meyer, bestselling author of the Twilight Saga. And her most recent novel, Life After Theft, was cheered as a "whirlwind adventure" by School Library Journal. Now Aprilynne returns with this exhilarating departure from her previous novels. Sleep No More is a psychological thrill ride that is sure to keep readers' hearts racing until the very end.

Grimm, Season 3, Episode 19: Nobody Knows the Truble I've Seen

“Nobody knows the trouble

I’ve seen,

Nobody knows my sorrow.”

Renard is drinking and all angsty in a bar, having given his daughter to Kelly to take to parts unknown (can I drink and be all angsty that they’ve shuffled Kelly away again?) He’s followed by the bar by FBI agent Steward (and Royal spy) who wants some vengeance after Renard beat him up last week. The man has a gun, but he loses Renard because of a bus. This man is not exactly skilled at following people

At casa de Grimm, Juliette and Nick discuss creepy baby and Adalind knocks on the door. She’s desperate and panicked and begs for Nick’s help getting her baby back from the Royals (since she’s not in on the big secret). She promises to help get Kelly out of gaol – but Nick reveals she’s already out and that she’s gone. Adalind continues to rant and panic, even wogeing in stress (and scaring Juliette) before leaving, determined to find and save her baby.

To the case of the week, a woman (with a chess-piece knight jewellery which the camera focuses on) is walking down a nighttime road when 2 guys get out of a truck and attack her. They drag her into the woods by the road and she loses her backpack and necklace – one man woges into Lausenschlange (snakey-wesen) and the other into something furry – before we get blood splatter and presumed death

Adalind goes to confront Renard – an emotional, raging moment that has them both woge (Renard’s nifty Zubenbiest voice). He says he doesn’t know how to help her and she responds with the awesome line of the week “figure it out, because one day I’ll stop crying.”

And to the crime scene with Hank, Wu and Nick – where both of the men are dead, stabbed and slashed repeatedly with a biiig knife. They notice the 3 sets of footprints and 1 drag mark and Hank finds the Knight chess piece. Wu runs their prints and discovers both dead men had long records, including for rape.

They go to interview the brother of one of the men woges into a Lauenschlange in grief and anger – which means he sees Nick is a Grimm and they have to calm him down since he assumes Nick is the killer. He doesn’t know much except his brother’s truck is missing and the other dead man was a Klaustrike – and that he doubts anyone could have taken both men except maybe a Grimm.

Cut to the woman they attack, her going through the wallets of the dead man and washing off blood; she has some big claw scars. She also seems almost surprised by the blood on her hands.

Next stop, Rosalie and Monroe who are extremely cute with their recycling game – and they have a visit from Adalind. Apart from her panic over her baby, she also has nothing – no money, no car, nothing. Nick asks Monroe to keep her there until they can figure out an answer. Rosalie isn’t a big fan of this plan since an angry Hexenbiest is a dangerous creature.